The jurisdiction over the area reserved for the extension of Macau’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) to the Hengqin checkpoint was transferred yesterday from Guangdong to the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), the Macau Public Works Bureau (DSOP) announced in a statement.
Consequently, Macau’s laws and regulations have been applicable in the area since yesterday.
According to yesterday’s DSOP statement, a ceremony marking the jurisdiction’s transfer was held at 00:00 a.m. yesterday at the Hengqin checkpoint.
The statement also said that construction of the LRT Cotai-Hengqin section and the setting-up of its rail operating system have now been “basically” completed, adding that the Macau government is now aiming to open the section connecting Macau’s Cotai and the Hengqin checkpoint by the end of this year.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing passed a decision in October 2019 to authorise the MSAR to administer the Macau-side checkpoint zone of the Hengqin joint checkpoint and adjoining areas from the day they come into use in accordance with the MSAR’s laws.
The jurisdiction over the Macau-side checkpoint zone of the Hengqin checkpoint and adjoining areas was scheduled to be transferred to the MSAR in three phases.
Yesterday’s jurisdiction transfer was the third phase, meaning that the jurisdiction over all adjoining areas of the Hengqin checkpoint’s Macau-side checkpoint zone have now all been transferred to the MSAR.
Before the Hengqin joint checkpoint came into service on August 18, 2020, the jurisdiction over the Macau-side checkpoint zone of the Hengqin checkpoint and the vehicular Lotus Flower Bridge was transferred to the MSAR on March 18 that year, namely the first phase.
The second phase comprised the permanent vehicle inspection channels, as well as the flyover connecting the University of Macau (UM) campus on Hengqin island and the Hengqin checkpoint.
Jurisdiction over the area used for the permanent vehicle inspection channels was transferred to the MSAR on April 20 last year, while the flyover was transferred on August 1.
Both the permanent vehicle inspection channels and the UM campus-Hengqin checkpoint flyover came into use September 26 last year.
The 2.2-kilometre-long LRT section between Cotai and the Hengqin checkpoint includes a 900-metre-long underwater tunnel.
Yesterday’s statement said that the third-phase transfer of jurisdiction has now enabled the Macau government to carry out train operation tests on the entire LRT Cotai-Hengqin section.
Meanwhile, the Public Works Bureau also announced on Sunday that construction of the LRT Seac Pai Van section and the setting-up of its rail operating system have now also been “basically” completed, adding that the bureau is now carrying out train operation tests on the 1.6-kilometre-long section, which will connect Cotai and Coloane’s sprawling Seac Pai Van public housing estate.
Sunday’s DSOP statement also said that the LRT Seac Pai Van section is scheduled to open also by the end of this year.
The handout photo released by the Public Works Bureau (DSOP) on Sunday shows an LRT train entering the Cotai-Hengqin section’s Cotai-side station from the current Taipa-Cotai section earlier that day.
